Gifts from the Heart
by Ziyi
Summary: [one-shot] Kakashi's 27th birthday.


_A/N: Early birthday fic for Kakashi. Please read and review, thanks!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto._

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

It was five o'clock in the morning. In a small apartment in the sleepy village of Konoha, an alarm clock was ringing shrilly while its owner burrowed deeper into the blankets trying, in vain, to shut out the piercing noise. After ignoring the shrill ringing for 5 minutes, the silver-haired man finally conceded defeat and dragged himself into a sitting position, switching off the alarm with an irritated slap of his hand.

"One of these days I'm going to flush you down the toilet, you noisy piece of junk," Kakashi muttered crossly to his alarm clock. As he got up to take a quick wake-up shower, his eyes fell on the calendar hanging on the wall.

_15 September_

He noted idly that it was his 27th birthday that day, and wondered where the time has gone by. It seemed not long ago when it was his 26th birthday. He was on an important S-rank mission then, and did not even realize that his birthday has passed. Birthdays did not matter to him nowadays anyway; he had not celebrated any of his birthdays since his best friend, Obito, passed away.

After having a quick shower and breakfast, Kakashi left his apartment for his daily ritual of visiting the village's monument to fallen heroes. He liked going there early in the morning, when nobody was around and it was peaceful and quiet. Sometimes, he would talk quietly to his sensei, Yondaime, and Obito, updating them on the recent events in Konoha. Sometimes, he would just sit there and enjoy the peaceful morning, reliving his past memories.

Today, he was remembering the last birthday he had celebrated with Obito. It was his 18th birthday, and Obito had given him the first volume of Icha Icha Paradise as a birthday present.

...... "_Wake up you sleepyhead! Happy 18th birthday! Here's your birthday present!"_

"... _Icha Icha Paradise? But that's adult fiction!"_

"_Hell yeah! This is to commemorate your first day into adulthood! Go on, read it!"_

"_Oh my god! You're actually blushing! I can't believe it, our almighty Kakashi is actually such an innocent little boy? Hahaha... Ouch! Don't punch me! Hahaha!"_

A small smile played on his lips, hidden away from view by the mask he wore. He took out the well-thumbed copy of Icha Icha Paradise that Obito had given him, running his hand lightly over the cover of the book. He really missed Obito. He missed his boisterous laughter, his way of running his hand through his hair when he wanted to catch the attention of some pretty girl, even missed the lectures they used to get from Yondaime when they were caught playing pranks instead of training.

Deep down inside, Kakashi felt very alone.

-----

It was past ten o'clock in the morning when he finally left the monument to go meet his team. He was, as usual, more than three hours late in meeting them and was trying to think up some half-cooked excuse for being late when he reached the meeting place.

"Ohayo! Sorry, I got lost on my way here..." Expecting a tirade from Sakura and Naruto for his lateness, Kakashi was surprised when none was forthcoming. His students were acting strange this morning. They were huddled close together and he kept catching them throwing furtive looks at one another and avoiding his gaze.

"Hey, what's the matter with you guys?"

Sasuke and Naruto both looked at Sakura. Sensing that she had somehow been elected to start the ball rolling, she took out a painting from behind her and gave it to Kakashi wordlessly. It was a breath-taking watercolor portrait of the four of them, with soft colors swirling across the canvas, capturing their expressions beautifully.

"What is this..."Before Kakashi could even finish his sentence, Naruto had pushed a small potted plant blooming cheerfully with pretty yellow flowers into his hand. Sasuke pushed a handmade wooden flute into his other hand.

As one, the three genins said, "Happy Birthday, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi was very touched. For once in his life, he was at a loss for words. He managed a simple "Thanks."

"Do you like our presents, Kakashi-sensei? I painted the portrait myself. Is it nice?" Sakura beamed at him.

"It's breathtakingly beautiful, Sakura. You have a talent for painting." Kakashi smiled at her.

"And mine? And mine? Do you like the flowers, Kakashi-sensei? I grew them myself, you know!" Naruto was grinning from ear to ear at him.

"Yes of course, the flowers remind me of you, cheerful and sunny!"

"I whittled the flute myself. It has a nice range of tones. Hope you like it."

"Of course I like it, Sasuke. Thanks, all of you, I really appreciate the gifts! Let me treat you to dinner at Ichiraku tonight. Meanwhile, let's get started on our training!"

As they set off towards the training grounds, Kakashi decided that he wasn't alone after all.

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_A/N: A bit OOC, ne?_


End file.
